Week 7 Topic: Digital Blurring
Gaming and its possible use in teaching and learning.

Weekly reflection…
Games Based Learning (GBL) is a global phenomenon shifting the way we learn and teach in the classroom. Mainstream internet users are becoming more digitally fluent with the integration of virtual worlds, social media and physical worlds; digitally blurring and re-shaping lives.

An exciting recent discovery was that the education department acknowledges off the shelf games are mostly not suitable for classrooms and have merged with Microsoft Partners in Learning to work towards digital technology, student gaming, and teacher coaching platform that will complement the TPACK learning system (Digital Learning Statement, 2010). Equally exciting is that leading commercial software developers are experimenting with techniques used by the video game industry (Schlaepfer, D., February 2013) that will integrate learning into complex games e.g., IBM, Photoshop, and Symantec.

GBL tools teach us about achieving goals; it took me two attempts to make a simple arcade style game which I have provided a link to at the end of this blog; it teaches us ‘patience’ that’s for sure. The experience and knowledge gained during this topic has given me a deeper appreciation for gamification. I did not know that web 2.0 has such a significant impact in the way digital games are developed and utilised in today’s learning environment.

For weekly task purposes I have attached my sploder game which will be amended in due course for the sole enjoyment of my almost two year old son. This is a great introduction for him to the world of home-made gaming: